Streaming Tips- Network

There's a lot going on right now, so where do you even start when it comes to your network?

There are a lot of questions you’ll have to ask if you want to broadcast. Among the foremost you should be thinking about your Network. This means both your internet connection and the connection from your streaming computer to your router. Typically, when you consider internet speeds, Download is important as you are bringing files from the internet to you, but with streaming it is Upload that is important. Even more important is upload speed dedicated to your stream. A normal building internet connection is shared with everyone in the building and usually, since upload isn’t used, there is plenty to go around. But streams are hungry! A good rule of thumb is 7mbps for lower definition and 15mbps for higher definition. Really, the stream only uses 3mbs and 7mbps respectively, but this gives you some room for the rest of the network to still function and for the stream to stay up. If you don’t have this much speed or more for upload you may need to look at an internet upgrade as a part of your streaming system. You don’t really need to worry about how many people are watching because most services take care of that for you. If you put the video on to a service like our favorite BOXCAST, they worry about the needs to get it to 5, 500, or 5000 viewers. ​

As for the connection to your router, always look to get a wired connection as wireless doesn’t hold up well for dedicated streaming. Even if it works flawlessly for a test, it may not keep working after your event room is full of smartphone users. ​

As everyone is trying to maintain or setup a network to broadcast it's important to know what will be best for your business and also what will continue to benefit you in the future. Perhaps it's a temporary setup with equipment pieces you can re-purpose later. Whatever it is, know that Lambda is here to help you get the most from your network and streaming.